Creative Labs Sound Blaster Play! 3 External USB Sound Adapter for Windows and Mac. Plug and Play (No Drivers Required). Upgrade to 24-Bit 96Khz Playback

I just plugged it in a USB port, windows recognized it and suddenly I had sound from a server with no built in audio. It didnt sound any different than built in audio.

I researched budget external sound cards extensively before purchasing this one. This has better audio quality than cards 5 times the price. 2 caveats: I dont use the microphone input and have disabled it. Some users have reported a slight hissing at high volume when using the monitor function. You have to install the control panel to change settings, and youre going to want to to disable the default EQ settings (totally unnecessary IMHO). Crucially, this device doesnt store settings offline, so you HAVE to use the software (Windows/MacOS only) to load the correct profile onto the device. This could be an issue for Linux users. Wish I didnt have to have another piece of software that autoruns when I start my machine. This device would be perfect if those settings persisted across machines!

Needed a sound card that would work with my Windows computers and Mac without any special drivers. Sound quality is good, low noise floor for low impedance headphones, and quickly detected by both OS.

It worked as they said it would do, but I guess my hopes were high. I think this item would be great for simple headphones not for the high-end models. My Bluetooth on my headphones would not connect directly to my PC, I thought this item would do. It worked but the sound quality was extremely poor but was ok when I used a pair of old wired ear buds. This is great for podcast

Night and Day. Night and friggin day! I never fully grasped what an utter POC my onboard soundcard was until I plugged this baby in. The sound is so big and pure it makes my teeth hurt! (Who knew mouth pain was a good thing?) Under twenty bucks for this life-changer. Highly recommended.

Audio jacks on motherboard stopped working. This product works normally without issue and I have sound and mic input again.

Its surprisingly good for its price, size, and ease of installation. The only hiccup was I had to disable my motherboard audio before it started working, but Im not sure if thats a device problem or a Windows problem. Im only knocking a star off because it doesnt drive a very clean signal. On headphones, I can hear some pretty strong white noise coming through at low volume levels, and my old Xonar definitely didnt have this problem. Its hardly noticeable, though, when Ive got speakers plugged in. My last sound device was an ASUS Xonar DS, which I loved, but after years of use it unfortunately succumbed. I chose this as a cheap replacement for an immediate fix while I read up on choosing a proper replacement for my dead Xonar, and this fit the bill. Overall, Im happy with the purchase given the price I paid for it.

For some reason the device turns off around 20% volume (not the minimum). Not sure why. Same experience on a different computer with a different piece. It is weird and annoying but not a deal breaker for me.

A lot less expensive than the $100 sound card. This works perfectly and attaches to my Logitech surround system

UPDATE 6/20 I decided to plug this back on my computer to see if I was being too rough with the Play!3. $20 with an equalizer, surround, expander, and ability to add high gain cant be as bad as I wrote. It is that bad. Im using a HD tracks and a Status Audio CB-1 and a Fluance power speaker. I did buy a CLIPTHAT HiFi DAC/Headphone Amp for $14 bucks and it sounds approximately 25% better. The Creative has more power, but it is really garbage. Im only disappointed that my review are a few pages back. I wanted to use the CLIPTHAT on my phone and use the Creative on the computer. Nope, it is going back to the drawer. Dont buy this DAC/Amp. It is tempting to get a super bargain, its hot garbage. I dont know why anyone would write a positive review. On the positive note, it works. Its a DAC and the music files sounded better than a 7-year-old GeForce NVIDIA soundcard. The amp section isnt up to snuff for use for powered studio monitors. However, everyone should realize that a USB dongle doesnt have an effective headphone amp (maybe for earbuds, it would work). It was my mistake or temporary brain cramp. The SBX Pro Studio software sounds hollow and glitchy when you use higher levels. It has a surround, Crystalizer (expander), and Bass effects. Again, its a tiny USB dongle and only temporarily insanity would believe that it is anything other than poo. Its better to not use them, in my opinion. But, for $20, it works. Are they awesome like the other reviews? Maybe, but probably not. The reason I changed my review was Creatives Customer Service. They sent me an email to see if I was satisfied. I sent a no and said that I didnt like the SBX Pro Studio. I didnt make demands or for a refund; I just wanted them to know that it isnt great. The CS agent told me that it was an entry-level product and if I wanted pristine sound audio, (the ad said, Studio Quality Listening) I should have purchased a $120 DAC from Creative. What!?!? After 2 more emails, I am done with Creative. I assume that customer satisfaction is to buy (for 6X the price of the product I just bought!!!) more from them and continue sending emails until you get tired of writing. I could continue with their blather, but its not worth it for a $20. I would suggest that its not OK to buy this DAC, but its would be better to do more research for a less glitchy product (XTrem Pro X1 has a DAC/Amp with a Sabre chip for $30) and avoid customer service, except to return it. However, since Amazon has buried my 1-star review and has purchased this DAC, turn the volume to 65% in the Control Panel and turn off the SBX Crap-filled Studio. Be aware that Creative is going to change the soundcard during installing the DAC and, if (when) you update to a better DAC, it will have issues. It will need updates on your soundcard. Please, dont buy Creative stuff. The marketing is great and there are so many 4.5 star reviews that they are from fake reviewers. There are bad reviews, but I am a general trusting man and figured that the reviewers were expecting a $5,000 audiophile DAC. However, they are spot on and should have listened to them. I join with them to tell you to get from another company. I am grateful that I only lost $20 and learned the lesson that free stuff for Amazon reviews and YouTube reviewers are what theyre in the Creative world. I, certainly, will never buy any Creative product from this time forward. I hope you do the same, they suck.